With their eagerly-awaited new album landing near the end of next month, Big Red Machine have returned once again to drop the next cut lifted from their forthcoming full-length.
The new single 'Phoenix' sees them collaborate with Fleet Foxes and Anaïs Mitchell for the release, and follows on from the previously shared Taylor Swift collaboration 'Renegade', 'Latter Days', which also features Anaïs Mitchell, and 'The Ghost of Cincinnati' in previewing their sophomore LP 'How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last?', which is out on the 27th August via Jagjaguwar/37d03d.
Speaking about the new offering, the band's Aaron Dessner said, "'Phoenix' was one of the last songs we wrote for this record. I was thinking about The Band and the Grateful Dead... maybe imagining this Big Red Machine album was some version of The Last Waltz. Justin first heard it while driving and immediately the chorus melody came into his head. I shared the sketch with Robin Pecknold, who I've been a fan of forever and who I'd been dreaming would join us on this record. Robin wrote the verses and pre-chorus as a kind of dialogue with Justin, recalling a conversation they once had backstage in Phoenix. Later Anais wrote words to the chorus and the Westerlies added their magic to the instrumental. JT Bates rumbles around in rare form on the drums on this song. I think it's what I always imagined Big Red Machine would sound like."
While Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold added, "It was a high, high honor to work on this song, and beyond that it was a really interesting creative challenge. Justin's vocals and the beautiful chorus were already in place before I got my hands on it, so I felt my job melodically and lyrically was to set his entrance up in the best possible way. I felt like a pilgrim putting questions to an elusive sage, not needing clear answers, but happy for the chance to ask."
Have a listen to 'Phoenix' in the player below.
